The Mumbai Police on Monday told the Bombay High Court that it will not take any action against actor Kangana Ranaut till January 25, in a case related to her allegedly insulting Instagram posts about Sikhs, Live Law reported.
On November 20, a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced that the farm laws would be repealed, Ranaut had said that “Khalistani terrorists were arm twisting the government”. In her Instagram post, Ranaut had also lauded former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, saying that she had “crushed Khalistanis like mosquitoes”.
The Mumbai Police had charged Ranaut under Section 295A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings).
On Monday, the Bombay High Court was hearing the actor’s petition seeking to quash the first information report against her. A division bench of Justices Nitish Jamdar and Sarang Kotwal said that it was considering whether to grant interim protection to Ranaut.
“Freedom of speech should not be affected… That would have a chilling effect,” Jamdar said in an oral observation.
The police then agreed not to take coercive steps against the actor.
In her plea Ranaut, through her lawyer Rizwan Siddiquee, had argued that there was no case made out against her under Section 295A of the Indian Penal Code.
The plea stated that Ranaut’s post in the aftermath of the repeal of farm laws was against the act of a banned organisation, and was within her fundamental right of free speech guaranteed under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution.
The court has, however, ordered Ranaut to record her statement on the matter before the police.
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